Breathing new life into the Canadian rock scene, the Mississippi Kings are a band that surely must not be missed. Exploding out of Hamilton’s vibrant music scene, the Kings’ own brand of steeltown grit is delivered with stack soul harmonies and soaring melodies, "which will move your body to emotional bliss," reviewed Canada Jams. Described as “The Band meets Motown,” the Mississippi Kings energetic live show and musical storytelling will transport you to the swampy marshlands of the Mississippi, rather than the muddy waters of Hamilton Harbour, the city the band calls home.
Founded in 2006, the Mississippi Kings are: Nick Cino (vocals/guitar), Mike Ventimiglia (guitar/vocals), Dave Marini (bass), Dan Stajduhar (drums), [edited here] and Ivan Katkic (keyboards) in 2007. As the band's primary songwriters, Nick and Mike have created their own distinct style combining a fierce double-vocal attack, stack harmonies and soulful guitar work. The breadth of musical influences, from The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Neil Young to Marvin Gaye and The Temptations – is reflected in their diverse songwriting abilities.
Their 2008 debut album, Long Time Comin’ was recorded at Vibewrangler Studio in Hamilton with producers Glen Marshall and Michael Keire (Broken Social Scene, Feist, Tom Wilson, Dark Mean, Peter Yarrow). Both the debut album and their follow-up single – Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On – have earned the band strong rotation and airplay on campus radio stations across Canada. Picking up on some of the best, but much forgotten or dismissed musical indulgences of the late ‘60s and ‘70s, the Mississippi Kings are sure to take both the old and new music world by storm.
Following their recent small but successful tour in Europe (Italy, England), the Mississippi Kings are back in the studio recording a new single and new songs for their upcoming summer EP and second album. The Mississippi Kings will play their brand of southern rock and northern soul at this year’s North by Northeast music festival in Toronto (June 18 at the Black Bull on Queen Street West), then head out to tour western Canada in July.
Hamilton producer Glen Marshall says, “When the Kings play their original songs along side the “rock and soul” songbook standards, the audience rolls right along as if they've known the songs all along. It’s a testament to the Mississippi Kings’ understanding and ability to create and perform truly great original songs that I believe can live easily amongst the cannon of some of the greatest popular songs of the 20th century.”
With the primary goal of making great music and having fun along the way, the Mississippi Kings have demonstrated early in their career an ability to craft the best foot stompin’ rock ‘n’ soul fusion north of the forty-ninth parallel.
